bruno22rf Posted March 28, 2011 Report Share Posted March 28, 2011 I,ve spent the last 6 months accumulating a complete Realtree outfit-and i mean everything from Balaclava to Boots and finally tried the lot out on pigeons last night.My other half found my appearance highly amusing,dressed from head to toe in Realtree, and suggested i might be a "thicket".Undaunted I ventured out into the woods in search of pigeons only to be shunned by them as well.I have never experienced birds flaring away from such a distance before and had to resort to standing behind a tree in order to get a bird near enough to take a pop-standing in dense hedgerow had them spotting me from a mile away.Now i,m depressed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popgun Posted March 28, 2011 Report Share Posted March 28, 2011 Wear a face mask and camo gloves and keep still you will get the birds in range also make sure you are not on the skyline you need a background so your not silueted against the sky line. Pat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miroku4399 Posted March 28, 2011 Report Share Posted March 28, 2011 spending loads on realtree doesnt make you invisible it may just be that you were slightly exposed or something else had sppoked them that you hadn't seen Shane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gixer1 Posted March 28, 2011 Report Share Posted March 28, 2011 Was it a green grassy background? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pavman Posted March 28, 2011 Report Share Posted March 28, 2011 I,ve spent the last 6 months accumulating a complete Realtree outfit-and i mean everything from Balaclava to Boots and finally tried the lot out on pigeons last night.My other half found my appearance highly amusing,dressed from head to toe in Realtree, and suggested i might be a "thicket".Undaunted I ventured out into the woods in search of pigeons only to be shunned by them as well.I have never experienced birds flaring away from such a distance before and had to resort to standing behind a tree in order to get a bird near enough to take a pop-standing in dense hedgerow had them spotting me from a mile away.Now i,m depressed. Field craft is the answer not just camo which serves to help break up your outline and appearance. One of the most important aspects is keeping completely still until the birds are within your kill zone. Like most wildlife they are tuned into movement as a possible source of danger, now hand on heart was you bobbing about with a bit of excitement Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seeker Posted March 28, 2011 Report Share Posted March 28, 2011 Hand washed in non u/v brightning detergents ... otherwise you glow like a sat nite disco ..? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpha Mule Posted March 28, 2011 Report Share Posted March 28, 2011 Re. the UV suggestion: Try washing all your kit without using any soap. Many of the soaps these days use stuff that enhances the UV refected to make things 'Whiter than white'. Many animals have much better perception of UV than we do (IIRC kestrels can track mice, as their urine is very UV 'intense'). Also, leave off with any fabric conditioner - it jiggers waterproofing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_b_wales Posted March 28, 2011 Report Share Posted March 28, 2011 Google 'Soap Nuts'. I use these to wash all my camo gear. The soap suds they produce, leave no smell or UV print. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rushjob Posted March 28, 2011 Report Share Posted March 28, 2011 Shape, shine, shadow, shift, sound and silhouette are your enemies! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pavman Posted March 28, 2011 Report Share Posted March 28, 2011 (edited) Shape, shine, shadow, shift, sound and silhouette are your enemies! i thought they was Dwarfs :blink: Edited March 28, 2011 by pavman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rushjob Posted March 28, 2011 Report Share Posted March 28, 2011 i thought they was Dwarfs :blink: Well the smaller you make each of them, the less impact they have.......... I'll get my coat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruno22rf Posted March 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2011 Thanks for the replies guys-post was more of a grumble than a cry for help but its very nice to see people offering advice.When i say complete Realtree i mean complete-only uncovered area was around my eyes-as for background-i was standing with my back to a thick hedge of Hawthorn with 6-7 foot high bushes in front of me.Going shooting with The Duncan at the weekend-if the pigeons avoid me again i,m going to take up knitting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted March 28, 2011 Report Share Posted March 28, 2011 were you standing absolutely still or did you move to get the gun ready? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruno22rf Posted March 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2011 Looking through the branches of the bushes in front of me I can see the birds from a good 3-400 yards away but as they get to about 100 yards off I start to slowly raise the gun-I normally have the stock resting on my foot.It seems to be this tiny movement that sends them scattering away but I have been shooting from this spot for many years and never encountered this problem before.Maybe i have shot all the stupid ones . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miroku4399 Posted March 29, 2011 Report Share Posted March 29, 2011 (edited) Shape, shine, shadow, shift, sound and silhouette are your enemies! forgot movement Edited March 29, 2011 by miroku4399 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seeker Posted March 29, 2011 Report Share Posted March 29, 2011 Maybe they're running a cammo recognition and avoidance class ...? then your partners probably right , and they're twichy thicket -spotting? Could always go back to you're previous gear - if it hasn't been binned? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harnser Posted March 29, 2011 Report Share Posted March 29, 2011 (edited) Simple tip . Never leave a real tree cammo jacket hanging in the wood . To many people rely on cammo clothes for pigeon shooting . Take a bit of advice from an old hand . Theres nothing wrong with wearing plain green ,brown or olive coloured clothing for pigeon shooting . In the summer a plain coloured long sleeve shirt is all I normally use . Movement is your main enemy with decoying pigeons . Harnser . Edited March 29, 2011 by Harnser Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted March 29, 2011 Report Share Posted March 29, 2011 Looking through the branches of the bushes in front of me I can see the birds from a good 3-400 yards away but as they get to about 100 yards off I start to slowly raise the gun-I normally have the stock resting on my foot.It seems to be this tiny movement that sends them scattering away but I have been shooting from this spot for many years and never encountered this problem before.Maybe i have shot all the stupid ones . could be the sun was in a different position but I'd lay money on it being the movement that was the problem. Try to avoid moving the gun till they are actually in range or get a net set up in front to hide the movement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooter Posted March 30, 2011 Report Share Posted March 30, 2011 On my DSC1 we were shown a Blaser video, which covered all aspects of shooting. The clothing section was a real eye opener. There we all were with real tree or C95, and the clothes in the vid which were least visible were...... Drab green and brown single colours. Even when the wearers were not trying to hide they seemed to blend into the backgroud. So as in the words of Adrian Cronauer (sort of), "this year the discerning shooter will be wearing green". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandalf Posted March 30, 2011 Report Share Posted March 30, 2011 Rushjob - I apologise for my 'Little Grasshopper' Pavman. He was never in the military. (Maybe the cubs). Shift used to be as in movement in my days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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